Factors Affecting the Efficiency of Wastewater Treatment Processes in Industrial Cities in Libya: A Quantitative Study in Brega and Ras Lanuf
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21706738Keywords:
Wastewater treatment efficiency, organic loading rate, hydraulic retention time, physico-chemical conditions, industrial wastewater, Libya, Brega, Ras LanufAbstract
Industrial wastewater management presents a critical environmental challenge in Libya's hydrocarbon-dependent economy, particularly within the major coastal industrial complexes of Brega and Ras Lanuf. This quantitative study investigates the factors affecting wastewater treatment efficiency in these industrial cities, focusing on Influent Organic Loading Rate (OLR), Hydraulic Retention Time (HRT), and Physico-Chemical Conditions (pH and temperature) as key operational parameters. Grounded in System Theory and Monod Kinetics, the research employed a descriptive-correlational, cross-sectional survey design with 120 technical professionals from National Oil Corporation facilities. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that the three independent variables collectively explain 55.1% of the variance in treatment efficiency (R² = 0.551, F = 46.682, p < 0.001). Physico-Chemical Conditions emerged as the strongest positive predictor (β = 0.412, p < 0.001), followed by OLR, which exerted a significant negative effect (β = -0.351, p < 0.001), and HRT, demonstrating a significant positive contribution (β = 0.298, p < 0.001). These findings provide empirical evidence that environmental boundary controls and organic load equalization are primary prerequisites for process optimization. The study offers actionable guidance for facility managers and policymakers to enhance operational performance, ensure environmental compliance, protect Mediterranean coastal ecosystems, and advance sustainable water reuse in North Africa's water-scarce region.
References
Abmdas, M. S. A., EL Mabrouk, F. A., Gaber, M., Alzayani, A., & Baba, F. A. (2026). Wastewater treatment as a pillar of water sustainability in Libya. Scientific Journal of Open University - Benghazi. https://journal.oub.edu.ly/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/0012.pdf
Abusaloua, A. (2015). Wastewater, AlBrega Company, Treatment. Asmarya Conference. https://conf.asmarya.edu.ly/index.php/ces2/article/view/697
Aghow, A. (2025). Oilfield water analysis. Journal of Libyan Studies.
Al-Rubaye, H., Smith, J. D., Shivashankaraiah, M. M., Yu, J., Karambelkar, S., & Ghorbanian, M. (2018). The impact of hydraulic retention time and operating temperature on biofuel production and process wastewater treatment. Chemical Engineering and Processing - Process Intensification, 129, 171–180.
Al-Sayed, A., Hassan, G. K., Al-Shemy, M. T., & El-Gohary, F. A. (2023). Effect of organic loading rates on the performance of membrane bioreactor for wastewater treatment behaviours, fouling, and economic cost. Scientific Reports, 13(1), Article 15601.
Alotaibi, M., Hassan, M., & Ahmed, S. (2024). Performance evaluation of biological wastewater treatment plants under high organic loading rates. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, 12(2), Article 111820.
Baruch, Y., & Holtom, B. C. (2008). Survey response rate levels and trends in organizational research. Human Relations, 61(2), 161–164.
Bertalanffy, L. von. (1968). General system theory: Foundations, development, applications. George Braziller.
Brislin, R. W. (1970). Back-translation for cross-cultural research. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 1(3), 185–216.
Bryman, A., & Bell, E. (2015). Business research methods (4th ed.). Oxford University Press.
CEDARE. (2005). Libya water sector monitoring and evaluation: Rapid assessment report. Centre for Environment and Development for the Arab Region and Europe.
Cohen, J. (1992). A power primer. Psychological Bulletin, 112(1), 155–159.
Connelly, L. M. (2008). Pilot testing. In P. J. Lavrakas (Ed.), Encyclopedia of survey research methods (pp. 622–623). SAGE Publications.
Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (5th ed.). SAGE Publications.
DeVellis, R. F. (2017). Scale development: Theory and applications (4th ed.). SAGE Publications.
Drouiche, N., Lounici, H., Mameri, M., Abdel-Haïz, B., & Boudjema, H. (2020). Dependability of the wastewater treatment plant: A case study of an experimental installation in Algeria. Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Research, 46(4), 295–301.
Elum, Z. A. (2016). Oil wastewater treatment gaps in Nigeria: Challenges and research needs. Journal of Environmental Management, 182, 340–348.
Fanack Water. (2022). Wastewater treatment and reuse in MENA countries: A regional overview. Fanack Water Files.
Field, A. (2018). Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS statistics (5th ed.). SAGE Publications.
Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1), 39–50.
Fraenkel, J. R., Wallen, N. E., & Hyun, H. H. (2019). How to design and evaluate research in education (10th ed.). McGraw-Hill.
Frascari, D., Zanaroli, G., & Damiano, D. (2018). Integrated technological and management solutions for wastewater reuse in North Africa. Wageningen University & Research.
Freiberger, N. (2010). The impact of ISO 14001 on environmental management in the Libyan oil sector. Environmental Policy and Governance, 20(4), 265–278.
Ghannadzadeh, S., Asadollahzadeh, M., Kargari, N., & Abbasi, M. (2023). Optimization of electrocoagulation process for treatment of oil refinery wastewater using response surface methodology and artificial neural network. Heliyon, 9(2), Article e13198.
Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., & Anderson, R. E. (2019). Multivariate data analysis (8th ed.). Cengage Learning.
Hu, H., Liu, X., & Hu, C. (2019). Evaluating oil production wastewater treatment based on environmental impact and advanced analytics. Journal of Cleaner Production, 239, Article 117974.
Keith, T. Z. (2019). Multiple regression and beyond: An introduction to multiple regression and structural equation modeling (3rd ed.). Routledge.
Kline, R. B. (2015). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling (4th ed.). Guilford Press.
Korotkova, N., Vatin, N., & Korsun, V. (2019). Technology of wastewater treatment from food industry enterprises. Journal of Ecological Engineering, 20(6), 147–155.
LaPara, T. M., Nakatsu, C. H., Pantea, L. M., & Alleman, J. E. (2001). Aerobic biological treatment of a pharmaceutical wastewater: Effect of temperature on COD removal and bacterial community development. Water Research, 35(18), 4417–4425.
Lavrakas, P. J. (2008). Encyclopedia of survey research methods. SAGE Publications.
Mateo-Sagasta, J., Raschid-Sally, L., & Thebo, A. (2018). Wastewater management in the MENA region: Current status and drivers of change. International Water Management Institute (IWMI) / CGIAR.
Minakshi, S., Sharma, P., & Kumar, R. (2022). Role of hydraulic retention time in biological wastewater treatment efficiency. Bioresource Technology, 345, Article 126480.
Monod, J. (1949). The growth of bacterial cultures. Annual Review of Microbiology, 3(1), 371–394.
Nikiema, J., & van der Steen, P. (2011). Wastewater treatment practices in Africa: Experiences from Tunisia. EcoSan Res Publication.
Nikiema, J., Aboud, A., & Murta, A. (2024). Wastewater management in Africa: Current status, challenges, and prospects. PMC, 11467993.
Nunnally, J. C., & Bernstein, I. H. (1994). Psychometric theory (3rd ed.). McGraw-Hill.
Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Lee, J.-Y., & Podsakoff, N. P. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(5), 879–903.
Polit, D. F., & Beck, C. T. (2006). The content validity index: Are you sure you know what's being reported? Critique and recommendations. Research in Nursing & Health, 29(5), 489–497.
Resnik, D. B. (2020). The ethics of research with human subjects: Protecting people, advancing science, promoting trust. Springer.
Saunders, M., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A. (2019). Research methods for business students (8th ed.). Pearson.
Sekaran, U., & Bougie, R. (2016). Research methods for business: A skill-building approach (7th ed.). John Wiley & Sons.
Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2019). Using multivariate statistics (7th ed.). Pearson.
Taherdoost, M. (2016). Sampling methods in research methodology: How to choose a sampling technique for research. International Journal of Academic Research in Management, 5(2), 18–27.
Tertouche, S. A., Ammar, R., & Benabdallah, T. (2021). Performance assessment of wastewater treatment plant using physico-chemical and electrocoagulation trials. Polish Journal of Environmental Studies, 30(6), 5273–5284.
Tobruk Group. (2015). Case study on wastewater performance in Eastern Libyan cities. Tobruk Center for Strategic Studies.
Downloads
Published
Data Availability Statement
NONE
